General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
VNR
Amy Lang
Chemical Manufacturers Associa tion
Script #2
GATT VIDEO NEWS RELEASE
PRESIDENT CLINTON
“THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY GOING ON IN OUR COUNTRY AND TAKING
HOLD IN THE WORLD DEPENDS UPON THE PASSAGE OF GATT AND OUR
CONTINUED LEADERSHIP.”
(Congress video and shipping video)
A special session of Congress votes on GATT.. the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade next week and President Clinton is lobbying hard for passage. Some
political experts say the results of this trade vote may be a preview of things to
come for the new Republican controlled Congress and the President. But
Louisiana Senator John Breaux say GATT is a bipartisan issue that makes good
economic sense for our country.
SEN. JOHN BREAUX
“THIS IS NOT A DEMOCRATIC ISSUE. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT
PRESIDENT REAGAN STARTED, PRESIDENT BUSH CONTINUED AND
NOW PRESIDENT CLINTON IS COMPLETING.”
(graphic -- bullet points over background)
The world-wide trade deal would:
**Lower tariffs or costs imposed on goods going to other countries
**It would protect valuable patents on US. products
** and create thousand of new jobs for U.S.workers
(press conference video)
And Ohio Congressman Mike Oxley says GATT would cut some 750 billion
dollars in taxes paid by consumers on imported goods.
CONG. MIKE OXLEY
“THIS IS THE LARGEST TAX CUT PROBABLY IN THE HISTORY OF THE
WORLD.”
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(Congress video and shipping video w/workers)
While the vote is expected to pass in the House of Representatives, the Senate is
still undecided. But Senator Breaux says like NAFTA, the North American Free
Trade Agreement, a GATT agreement will boost U.S. productivity and create
thousand of new jobs.
JOHN BREAUX
”I KNOW IN THE N A n A AGREEMENT WITH MEXICO A LOT OF
WORKERS SAID, WE SHOULDN’T BE FOR THIS BECAUSE ALL THE JOBS
WILL MOVE TO MEXICO. BUT JUST THE OPPOSITE HAS HAPPENED.”
(Press conference on the hill)
Members of Congress and business leaders speaking at a press conference in
Washington say the 125 nation trade pact will help U.S. companies grow and
develop in a highly competitive world market, creating more jobs here at home.
CONG. TOM PETRI WISCONSIN
“WE’RE A LEADING EXPORTER OF SMALL ENGINES, OUTBOARD
MOTORS, MACHINE TOOLS, INDUSTRIAL CRANES, AND
MANUFACTURED PROCESSED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. AND ALL OF
THESE EXPORTS ARE GROWING VERY, VERY FAST. NEARLY ONE IN FIVE
JOBS IN MANUFACTURING IN MY DISTRICT IS EXPORT DEPENDENT.”
FRED WEBBER
“GATT WILL CREATE UP TO 36-THOUSAND NEW CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
JOBS, GOOD PAYING JOBS, AND WILL INCREASE CHEMICAL EXPORTS BY
UP TO $15 BILLION IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS.”
(corporate video..assembly lines, product development)
But also important to US. companies is GATT’s provision for patent protection..
Larry Gess, Director of World Trade for NALCO Chemical Company says all too
often American inventions are stolen by other countries.
LARRY GESS
”IF WE SPEND FIVE YEARS AND ONE MILLION DOLLARS DEVELOPING A
NEW PRODUCT FOR THE MARKET. WE TAKE IT OUT AND A
COMPETITOR SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD, TAKES A SAMPLE OF THAT,
ANALYZES IT AND STARTS MARKETING THAT PATENTED
TECHNOLOGY OR THAT TRADE SECRET... THAT’S NOT FAIR.”
Gess says GATT will bring fairness to international trade. In Washington, I’m
Amy Lang.
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General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
VNR
A m v Lang
Chemical Manufacturers Association
Script #1
GATT VIDEO NEWS RELEASE
The U.S. exports more products than any other country in the world. But in
some countries, our specialized products like pharmaceuticals and computers
are difficult to get. The high tariffs and trade barriers set by these countries, often
price US.products out of the market. The story is the same for hundreds of
other U.S. made products as well. Larry Gess from NALCO Chemical Company
says his company makes chemicals that help boilers run more efficiently, but
doing business overseas can be an expensive proposition for consumers.
LARRY GESS
“A GOOD SIZE ACCOUNT FOR BOILER WATER CHEMICALS IS $100-
THOUSAND. THERE’S A 65 PERCENT DUTY ON THE VALUE OF THOSE
GOODS TO GET THE PRODUCT ACROSS THE BORDER TO A CUSTOMER IN
INDIA. THAT $65-THOUSAND DOLLARS SCARES A LOT OF PEOPLE OFF.”
But the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade or GATT will knock down those
trade barriers and make the playing field fairer for U.S. workers. At the Asia
Pacific Economic Conference in Indonesia this month, President Clinton said the
continuing economic recovery in our country and worldwide depends on GATT.
SOT CLINTON
“OUR NATION ALREADY HAS THE MOST OPEN MARKETS ON EARTH. BY
OPENING OTHER MARKETS, OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES BECOME
MORE COMPETITIVE AND MORE SALES ABROAD CREATES MORE HIGH
WAGE JOBS HERE AT HOME.”
(Congress video and shipping video)
Trade experts say the 125 nation trade agreement will:
(GRAPHIC WITH BULLET POINTS)
** lower tariffs or costs imposed on U.S. goods going to other countries
** It will protect valuable patents on U.S. products and
** It will create thousands of jobs for U.S. workers
(senate video..lead in to John Breaux interview)
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But the GATT faces a tough fight in the Senate. And the outcome of the
GATT vote may be a litmus test for how the new Republican Congress will get
along with the President. Sen. John Breaux a Democrat from Louisiana says
GATT is a bipartisan issue and the last thing Americans want is gridlock in
Congress.
SOT SEN. JOHN BREAUX
“I THINK ANYBODY WHO DECIDES TO OPPOSE THE GATT JUST TO
BLOCK PRESIDENT CLINTON FROM GETTING A VICTORY IS PURSUING
THE WRONG POLITICAL AVENUE AND IT’S GOING TO I THINK
BACKFIRE. I THINK THE BETTER COURSE OF ACTION WOULD BE TO
SHOW THAT CONGRESS CAN WORK.”
United States Trade Representative Mickey Kantor explains what will happen if
GATT fails.
MICKEY KANTOR
”WE’LL LOSE 25-THOUSAND JOBS OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS. WE’LL
LOSE 70 BILLION DOLLARS IN GROSS PRODUCT. WE’LL LOSE U.S.
LEADERSHIP IN TERMS OF WORLD ECONOMICS. GLOBAL GROWTH WILL
BE STIMIED AND OUR OWN EXPANSION WILL BE VOIDED. IT COULDN’T
BE A MORE DEVASTATING SITUATION FOR THE UNITED STATES IF THIS
DOESN’T PASS.”
((Shipping video from Richmond)
If Congress does vote for the GATT, U.S. exports are expected to increase
by $65 billion each year. Already, the North American Free Trade Agreement br
NAFTA claims exports near $49 billion and has created 100-thousand new jobs.
A GATT agreement will drive product prices down and stimulate the US.
workforce even more.
MIKE OXLEY
I
”FOR EVERY BILLION DOLLARS OF EXPORTS, IT CREATES 20-THOUSAND
NEW JOBS IN OUR COUNTRY. SO YOU CAN SEE HOW IMPORTANT
GETTING GATT APPROVED REALLY IS.”
Congress is scheduled to vote on GATT after Thanksgiving. In Washington, I’m
Amy Lang.
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GENERAL INFORMATION;
Clinton:
00:05:43 Our nation already has the most open markets on earth, by opening
other markets our products and services become more competitive and more
sales abroad create more high wage jobs at home.00:05:54
00:08:13 Now when we return to Washington, our first order of business for
Congress must be to pass the GATT. Every leader I spoke with here, every
leader asked me about the U.S. leadership on GATT and on world trade issues
generally. America's opportunities and our responsibilities demand a spirit od
bipartasinship especially when it comes to keeping our country strong abroad.
That cooperation was demonstrated in the historic NAFTA victory and in the
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encouragement I received from the republican leaders before I left for this
trip.00:08:47 Now I call upon the Congress, members of both parties to use this
momentum from this trip to pass the GATT. 00:08:54 The economic recoverv
going on in our country and taking hold in the world depends upon the passage
of GATT and our continued leadership.00:09:03
DuPont Richmond Plant:
Chico Bogaz Planning Specialist for Kevlar DuPont
2:01:35I think in our case it would be very beneficial because of the types of
products we make here. They are high speciality product..they are very
expensive..our growth is overseas and anytime you have a barrier what it tends
to do is increase the product overseas and it keeps our customers from buying
that product which in turn means that we can’t grow here and create jobs.
02:02:23 I believe that will make our pricing more attractive particularly in third
world countries and in turn it will mean we’ll create more jobs here and the
types of jobs we’ll create are high paying chemical jobs.
It also will have a cascading effect because our suppliers will have to make more
of what we use and it will in turn create jobs for our suppliers
02:03:42 I think the advantage we have here in terms of growth is we can put in
additional machinery
All our growth is happening overseas..all our sales..
Exactly it would make it easier to sell things abroad..it would make our products
more attractive to our customers because the main thing our customers complain
about right now is that our products are too expensive so if you remove that
tariff..that trade barrier it’s going tomake our products cheaper and more
attractive. And it turn locally, it will create jobs for use. Absolutely, there’s no
doubt about it.
think
02:07:30 I think you have to look at the affect of GATT over and overall it’s a
winner.
I think Gatt is like NAFTA..you have to look at it in term of the advantage it
presents for the whole country..not look at what it does for a segment of the
country.
I think overall it’s going to create jobs for hte United States. I think there might
be some areas where they’re be some impact but I think overall free trade is good
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as long as it’s fair and if we have free trade and fair trade..i don’t think we’ll have
a problem. and I don’t think that we as American workers should be afraid to
compete with anyone..I think we’re doing a good job of competing right now
and we’re getting better all he time.
2nd. interviews
03:00 :45
I believe a world trade agreeement is a good thing for our country. Our workers
are now more competitive that ever and I think a fair playing fiekd it what we
need to grow aour markets.
As we have a need to sell more product, we have to make more which means we
have to start new equipment up or we have to use existing equipment that’s
down and that equipment is going to require people to run it. And in turn,as we
sell more we also have to buy more from our suppliers which will also effect the
number of suppliers we have to hire. I think growth is good..that’s what we need
in this country, growth in the economy.
03:06: The thing that we need to do is do what is right for the country. I think we
should not let politics come into play and we should not worry about whether it
makes President Clinton look good or bad, I think Pres. Clinton whether you
agree or disagree with him, is try to do the right thing. I think it’s key that if this
vote is good forthe U>S> we ought to put politics aside and go on and vote the
right way And think with the issue of GATT we are going to have some winners
and losers, but I think we need to look at GATT from the standpoint of how it
affects the total country and not specific regions. And I believe it is going to be a
positive for the whole country.
3:06:39 I think the a American worker today is more competitive that ever and I
don’t think we should fear competiting with overseas workers and I think when
youhave a playing field that is fair I think we can beat anyone.
3:07:15 Jane White International Customer Rep. I ship Kevlar to foreign regions
3:09:19 Kevlar is a qulaity product and because of that the price of it is very high,
Therefore when it is imported into a country the duties and tariffs are also very
high because they are based on the value of the product. It ends up that foreign
countries are often paying twice as much for the product as we are here at home,
so it’s quite expensive and sometimes they can’t afford it, so they would end up
settling for a lesser product instead of working with Kevlar.
In some countries for bullet proof vest they use layers of cotton and a steel plate
in between it and while that does the job, it’s not as effective as Kevlar, it’s not as
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light weight, it’s heavier, it’s hotter and the police are not as apt to keep i t on
when thev needed it.
I think it’s very good for our country in general, I think it will stimulate exports, I
think it will give us more jobs because of the increase in exports.
I do thin kthe GATT agreement is a positive thing for our country because it will
increase production and the need for more jobs for exports and it will help us to
increase the number of products we export. We look to it to help us export more
Kevlar
I look for it to increase our sales because if we can sell more Kevlar, it will drive
down the price, make it a more competitive product so that we can sellit to the
foreign countries who up until now have no been able to afford it. It will increase
the number of productions so that we are going to have to hire more people to
make Kevlar. These are good jobs. These are jobs in a factory where they get
well paid because they are high tech, jobs ..they have to monitor the spinning of
the fiber and be specially trained so it is especially good for the economy.
We guard the technology for Kevlar very closely. We try not to give out too
much technical information because there are companies out in the world that
have tried to copy Kevlar and there are many inferior products out there, so yes,
it would be wonderful if we had a GATT agreement to protect out technology
and keep us more competitive.
3:13:36
I think it’s time for a change. I feel very strongly about the export market because
i’ve been a rep for a lot of years and I think it’s time that we realize that it’s not
just a domestic market, it is an export market and that we have to get out and sell
to the rest of the world if we want to grow and develop and stay competitive.
3:14:08 It’s the only thing that’s going to keep our company alive. We can only
sell so much in the domestic market, but the real markets are out there in Latin
America and Asia Pacific. They‘re the countries that are starting to develop and
will be buying and that’s where we need to be.
03:14:41 Dan Elrod Production, Planning and Customer service mgr. for Kevlar
in U.S.
Extremely important. We have always enjoyed a very strong export market, yet
we have know that there are many countries that the trade restrictions prohibit
the development of good businesses. The high tariffs the high duties..
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While we do have some capicitv at this point, as the market grows with the
demand for speciality products we would have to expand our facilities and
definitely that means jobs.
We export about 40 percent of ail the product we make here today.
Today we see our growth markets as being our export markets. The emerging
nations global economies, it's very hard to dream of how high we could get in
our export markets
Best of all worlds is a growth environment call it free trade..fair trade..global
economies where we can compete on a level playing field with our competition.
Everyone benefits from it. the marketplace grows the job market grows and these
are good jobs for people..the technologies that we employ promote higher
salaries ...advancement of people high learning curves.
Competition would love to know what we do..we would love to know what they
do, but the GATT agreement would help our security because technologies are
protected
GATT -- 7 rounds ...the last round is the Uraguay rounds. They lasted 7 years.
WTO -- New organization formed from Uraguay round -- serve as a trade court.
China not part of GATT
I. PRESS CONFERENCE
SPEAKERS: See Tape
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Mike Oxley From Ohio
* Tom Petri from Wisconsin
* Tom Koon Pres. Edison Electric
* Fred Webber
* Dave Parker Pres. Aluminum Association
* Mary Grocery Manufacturers Association
* Lou Freeman SPI
* Maureen Smith V.P. U.S.Forest and Paper Association
* Bill Crist Sr. V.P. American Electronics
11. OTHER ANGLES
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY --Patent Protection
Contact; Jacque Gorlin-- Intellectual Property Committee
872-1260
GATT effects on ECONOMICS AND COMPETITIVENESS
Contact: Harvey Baille - PHARMA Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Association
Larry Gess ----- NALCO (708) 305-1494
Laurie Anderson -- SPI
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